There's no question that former Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins receiver Cris Carter is one of the greatest of all time at his position. He's third all time in career receptions with 1,101, eighth in receiving yards with 13,899, and fourth all time in receiving touchdowns with 130. He should have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he's had to wait (hopefully not too much longer), and that's a shame. Few players figured things out better after a rough start and mined their potential than Carter did.

"Calvin Johnson, he's very, very good at Madden and Tecmo Bowl or whatever they're playing now. But on film, when I watch film, and I break down the film, he's not to the point of these guys yet. That doesn't mean he can't play. He just not there yet." [...]

"...We're trying to determine greatness and impact on the NFL game. Calvin Johnson, you don't have to double-team him to take him out of the game. Now, I made eight Pro Bowls. I made it with five different quarterbacks. They weren't always great. So I don't want to hear the excuse that I'm not playing with a great quarterback.["]

In truth, I think Carter got caught in forgetting Johnson and just didn't want to admit it, because he later backtracked from his original list. On Monday, with the two Mikes still talking about it, Carter called in to the radio show and said that "[Johnson is] right there with the top five. I may have given Reggie Wayne a gift."

Or, he just forgot about Johnson and refused to admit it.

In any case, Johnson couldn't care less. "I'm not really tripping," Johnson told the Detroit Free Press on Monday. "I don't really care. I don't really listen. I didn't even know what happened until one of the guys told me the other day. I have my remarks, but I'm going to keep that to myself."

And that attitude should keep him off any ESPN shows as a future analyst. Saying without knowing is a trademark in some quarters.